Putting head back together need help

I know its long, but there is alot of stuff wrong with my car.

I have heard that you need to replace the studs/head bolts when putting the head back together with a new gasket. Well needless to say, I have taken the head apart 3 times in the past 3 weeks and I STILL have problems I need your help baaad! I put a copper head gasket on my gsr from summit racing. The first time, I put it on without sealent. Needless to say it leaked oil. Second time, I put the head back on with sealent. Still leaks! Took it apart again to check for uneven sealent globs and such and put the head on again. STILL LEAKING!!! Now I have the head apart again and don't know what to do. It's brand new and just spent however much they cost, I think 80-100 bucks. (Can't remember because i keep buying parts for the freakin junk). Anyways, I am considering getting an oem gasket since the original was never replaced and didn't leak until recently. Should I get new studs too? If so, what are some good kinds to get, if any, and where can I find them for a decent price. Also, another issue is overheating. When I installed a dual aluminum radiator the first time, I had big universal hoses on. Well, of course they leaked and caused to overheat. Well I also found out that the new radiator had a leak in it too. I already installed the 2nd dual aluminum radiator which doesn't leak now and I have fitted hoses on the motor now too. (This was like awhile ago while the head was leaking still). Anyways, I drive it around town for the night and my temp gauge reads normal. I was happy. I dropped my friend off at his house and I checked my gauge again. Normal. Just out of nowhere, on my way home, the temp needle is at the top. I pull over and shut the car off. I open the hood and hear nothing. Felt the radiator cap and it was pretty warm. Stupid, but I opened it up and of course a little liquid spewed out along with alot of steam. I put water in it and made it back to my house. I send my dad to get me a thermostat while im working on the head and we install the new thermostat like the original. I drive it in town to see if it overheats and half way it does. Check the engine and there is antifreeze spewing from the seal of the thermostat housing. Weird. Tow it back to my house and open it up. The thermostat is sealed properly in the housing and I put sealent on the two adjoing pieces. Drive it in town and seems fine but overheats again. Check engine no liquid this time. WTF! I know the radiator is working, but now my radiator fan does not kick on for crap. Hot wire the fan to make sure it still works and it does. Doesn't click on while driving so sounds like maybe the thermo switch. I don't know for sure and am working on a budget so I don't want to spend money for a part I didn't need. I also have the suspision that maybe the thermostat my dad was given was maybe for a nonvtec 1.8 or something along those lines and its temp is set higher. Either way I don't know and need help. I don't see how its the thermo stat though because the car overheated so it must have opened at some point. I also felt the top radiator hose for warmth and it was pretty hot. I am assuming that it means that the thermo is opening and letting warm water in the radiator. I need help because I need my car for work and school. If you could help me and maybe ask some people you know I would much appreciate the help as its hurting my lifestye and will eventually cause me my job. Thanks again for your effort and kindness.
Undrgrndhaqer

One thig to do is make sure u bleed ur heating system. This could be the problem to why ur car is overheating but it wouldn't make the car stop leaking fuilds. Just double check all ur bolts and make sure they are tighten down to specs.

Originally posted by ISP James did you have your head resurfaced at a machine shop before you put it back on? that is always a good idea.

I recommend this as well. You may have some imperfections in your head and/or block that are causing the leak. Also, I don't think you're supposed to use sealant on the head gasket. You are supposed to replace the head bolts when you remove them because they streach and can cause the torque specs to change.

Here's what I suggest:head
get it resurfaced
get an OEM gasket
get a good torque wrench and book so you know what order and what torque to tighten them
get a new set of bolts

overheating
I think you should flush the system with some of that flush stuff you can get at the auto store
Use that and see if it still overheats; if it does, turn your original thermostat backwards. This will allow the fluid to flow all the time. If you still overheat, I have no idea what the problem could be other than a bad fan switch.

well...from the sounds of all of it...i say resurface the head and block...not sealing properly?? maybe with one of those overheats you warped the head?? aluminum is pretty easy to warp if you overheat it.

i personally feel from experience with v8s your overheat problem may have had something to do with your head gasket change...im assuming that you are changin it because it was bad, and it could have been leaking coolant too and you not notice it...remember with the open block design there really isnt much that seperates the coolant from the cyl other than the head gasket. it could have been air too...but i thought teggys had the air bleed plug on the upper radiator hose connection on the engine vapor lock happens...its all something we have to deal with, but there are ways around it. like running the engine with the radiator cap off and keep putting antifreeze in it after the thermostat opens...stay on top of your engine bro. i think your head gasket may have just be the whole problem all together

I have a copper head gasket on my corrado and was having the same problem you are having with it leaking. It is extremely hard to get it to seal because the head bolts tend to stretch and what not and compression leaks from all over and stuff comes out but once it seals its the best thing ever. Like the other people are saying get your head resurfaced so you can make the most tightest seal ever. Im serious they are the hardest things to get sealed correctly. An yes no sealant is the way to go, you just need to get it sealed in the first place without it.

And I feel your pain because I went through the same thing and it gave me the biggest headache for ever till i got it fixed.

Reasons number 1 and 2 why I don't like to use copper head gaskets. They just like to leak and unless the water passages are identical to stock they tend to overheat. For the leaking problem use the grey Yamabond non hardening epoxy smeared on both sides and let dry to a tacky condition. It is the best sealant available for copper head gaskets. Honestly the best solution is just go with the oem head gasket unless this is a race only car which it doesn't sound like.

There is also a bleeder valve on most recent years of the honda/acura water outlets. You must bleed the system until you get all air bubbles out or else the air pocket will make the sending unit not read correctly and may not allow the thermostat to operate correctly.

ISP James - Yes, bottom of the head was resurfaced by machine shop. Good idea though

Nickgsr1 - If you are speaking of that little nozzle that can be turned by a wrench, I have done this already as well. Lets pressure out of the system. Talking about the same thing? And Also, I have a shop manual for the gsr motor so I do double check everything to spec. Thnx

westcoaststyle - I doubt the imperfections because I did get the head resurfaced. Unless my block is warped, I doubt there are any. Also, I didn't think I had to use sealent either, but after it spewed all over the engine bay, I called summits tech line and they told me to use hylamar(spelling), so I did. Seems to work except for the left corner where it still leaks oil. Not nearly as bad though. Thanks for the advice I will use it.

silverstreakin - I am scare to admit, but one of my car friends said that maybe the block warped too. I am skeptical about the block warpage, because in honda terms, if the needle goes past the H mark, then you are overheated to the point of warpage. I heard that if you stay below the top line (Which I always did) then you should have no risk of warping. Also, yes there is a bleed plug for the radiator. No cracks on the engine block. Thnx for tech advise

Zedron - Glad someone knows exactly what its like. Everyone has troubles with there car, but when u have to take the head apart time after time just to get to head gasket, its a pain. I am going to stick with the sealent because first, it seems to be stopping oil from leaking except in one spot where it just gushes out. It just seems to work. I think im going to probably change the head bolts out and maybe that will help. I did get the head resurfaced though. Thanks man

rev - I might just get that oem head gasket. Just hate to see 100 dollars down the drain for nothing. Yes I have bled the system.

Yea, the solution is most likely a new head gasket. The overheating is what is keeping me from driving because it will overheat before I get somewhere! I was reading another thread on this site and they were talking about thermo switch. Maybe that could be the prob. I just cant find a thermostat switch to buy.
Thanks again for the help fellas

Copper gaskets are indicated for high performance, high compression applications. If you're using a copper gasket on a stock motor, then you're creating headaches for yourself for no good reason. If you really need a copper head gasket, then you should have the motor assembled by someone who knows how to build high performance motors. No offense, but it doesn't sound like it's you. At this point you really should turn it over to someone else while there's still hope of saving the motor.

My guess about the coolant problem is that you installed the gasket wrong, the wrong kind of gasket, or your use of sealant has clogged up some cooling passages. You might want to check for coolant in your oil, and vice versa. If you're lucky, you installed a gasket without holes for all of the water passages, and substituting a correct stock gasket will take care of the problem. At the other end of the spectrum, you might need a hot-tanking and overhaul.

Once again slow-n-low, you find a way to sneak in a negative comment. I do have knowledge of honda/acuras. Hence, why im doing it myself. I do not turn my workload on over to someone else simply because of 2 problems. Also, for your information, I have checked the oil and there is no mix of the two. Therefore, the gasket is not causing my motor to overheat. As I had indicated earlier, they are two seperate problems. Please do not reply to my posts.

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